Dow, S&P 500 and Nasdaq open higher as Treasury selloff eases

All three major US indices opened in the green on Tuesday as a cooling Treasury selloff gave equity markets room to breathe. The S&P 500 climbed roughly 0.2% to around 7,708, the Dow Jones Industrial Average added about 120 points to reach approximately 53,463, and the Nasdaq followed suit with modest gains. The catalyst: the US Treasury Department announced plans to at least double its buybacks of longer-term Treasury bonds, scaling up from $2B to a minimum of $4B per operation starting September 9. The move sent the 10-year Treasury yield sliding from 4.71% to 4.64%, a drop that equity investors greeted like a cold glass of water after a four-day losing streak. What the Treasury is actually doing The announcement specifically targets longer-dated nominal sectors, the corner of the bond market that had been under the most strain. Rising yields on these bonds had been acting like a slow tax on everything from mortgage rates to corporate borrowing costs, dragging down stock valuations in the process. The buyback expansion comes after the S&P 500 hit an all-time high the previous week before sliding into a four-session losing streak. Why the relief might not last By August 20...